Cut Worms debut album Hollow Ground is an odd beast. Clearly entranced by the Sixties art of songwriting, and not the progressive strand of Reed, Dylan, Morrison et al. but the kind of songs that no-one would usually think of writing nowadays in terms of their rhymes and lyrical sentiments, of early Beatles music hall numbers like Mr. Moonlight, Freddy & the Dreamers, Herman & the Hermits, early Ray Davies and the Everly Brothers.
It's a very strange conceit, essentially rehashing a set of emotions and attitudes that make next to no sense fifty years down the line. That doesn't prevent the songs themselves being worthy of attention. Cut Worms, (aka Max Clarke), is a very good songwriter and when he shifts his inspirational timeline on from 1964 to 1966 as he does with Like Going Down Sideways, he's capable of producing a highly successful package that resonates the spirit of those long-gone times while reminding you that they were days with darkness of their own too.
So while I wonder how much I'll return to Hollow Ground, any more than I generally listen to early Beatles or Everly Brothers albums, it definitely has its moments and will probably gain an appreciative if niche audience. The kin of people who have a lot of Wes Anderson DVDs on their shelves I expect. Clarke deserves respect for choosing his own road, (an unusual path), and should be worth keeping an eye on.
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